Long Way To Go
by Annjirika
Summary: [Oneshot] [Squffie shock!] The typical Squffie, with a lot more sick!Leon and a lot more denial!Yuffie. Whoa, there's even a Soriku hint here or there!


_A/N: For the Squffie Sick Fic Contest. I miss writing Squffies. I might start writing them again. They're such an awesome couple…if not a little worn._

VvVvVvVvV

"_Heh-EHSSSHHH_." 

"That sounded like it hurt." Yuffie stated.

"It did." Riku wiped his nose with the back on his hand and cleared his throat. Yuffie shuddered. Riku noticed and smirked. "Ready?" He began swinging his keyblade around in an attempt to appear intimidating.

It was Yuffie's turn to smirk. "Better give up now and save yourself the trouble."

"Not a chance." Riku barely had time to finish his comeback when a spiky ninja star only just missed his left ear. Yuffie grinned confidently, twirling her own weapon through her fingers as she waited for his response. "Fira" He muttered, his eyes narrowing. Out of the tip of the dark and daunting Souleater came a brilliant blast of orange light, speeding toward her. She easily dodged it, relying on her innate ninja skills, but it became increasingly difficult to maneuver the multiple fira attacks that followed.

"Hiding like a wusseeEEEP behind magic? Fight like a re-EEL man!" Yuffie managed to yell across the cavern at her unrelenting adversary. She took advantage of his lapse in concentration and hurled two stars at him, both of which grazed his arm before smashing against the wall with two sharp _pings_. She was pleased to see his sleeve had taken the brunt of the attack. She hadn't been aiming to _really_ hurt him, after all.

"You're one to talk," Riku paid no attention to his clothes. "You don't use hand to hand combat either." He guestured to one of her weapons lying behind him.

Yuffie eyed him suspiciously, and then after a split seconds deliberation promptly freed her belt of all weapons...all except one. They clattered to the stone floor. "You put up that gayblade of yours and we'll fight like _real_ men."

Riku frowned, his gaze also skeptical. Finally, his keyblade faded into the atmosphere, leaving a trail of tiny pyreflies. "You're on."

Yuffie inwardly grinned, all too aware of the pointy metal resting against the small of her back. She waded toward him, his cocky grin sliding into place, completely unaware of the razor-sharp surprise waiting for him. When she set foot on the slimy rock where he waited, she lunged at him, drawing her weapon and thrusting it just past his right ear.

This distraction only worked for an instant, but it was all she needed to tackle him. Using the element of surprise and her speed as best she could (all the while knowing he was physically stronger than she was) she managed to wrestle him into a mercy position. She straddled his back, just out of kicking range, and pinned his arms down with her knees.

"Arghphm." He grumbled against the ground.

"What's that?" Yuffie couldn't keep the glee out of her voice.

He turned his head. "I can't breath." He wheezed.

"Guess you shoulda thought of that _before_ you challenged the Greatest Female Ninja Ever." 

"I'm _serious_," He managed to throw her off by rapidly rolling onto his side, immediately sitting upright and surrendering to what sounded like a painful coughing fit.

"Oh…" Yuffie blinked as he continued to gasp for breath. "You _were_ serious."

"You…think?"

"Well you can't be in _terrible_ pain as you still have the ability to be a sarcastic jackass." Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Besides, how do I know you aren't faking it so I'll feel guilty and call a rematch – not gonna happen, by the way! You cried uncle first!" She giggled again. "Well, more like _coughed_ uncle."

"Are you two finished flirting yet?" A sour voice echoed throughout the cavern.

Yuffie groaned. "Yes _Squaaaall,_ we're finished." Riku cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. "Any particular reason you're here?" Yuffie hadn't been on the best terms with Leon lately. She'd been getting more and more annoyed at his sudden shift in behavior. He had stopped being stoic, grouchy Leon and had become uber-ultra-overprotective-sulky Leon.

She couldn't believe it but she actually was beginning to miss the days when he didn't watch and scrutinize her every move. In fact, it's what she'd always wanted. Well, to an extent. Her crush on Leon hadn't been a secret to anyone except Leon, who remained blissfully unaware of her feelings. She'd wanted him to pay attention to her, show _any_ kind of interest in her. Now he _was_ showing interest, just not the kind she had been hoping for.

"Aerith told me to find you." Leon purposely ignored the butchering of his name, looking straight at Riku. "She says she has a few more healing spells she wanted to teach you before you go back to the Islands." 

Riku had started showing interest in becoming a healer on his Island. As far as Yuffie could tell, he was subconsciously trying to atone for his adventures two years ago. He and Sora had come to Traverse Town a month ago, Riku hoping for Aerith's expert guidance and Sora hoping for Cid's help with his sputtering gummiship. The boys had only meant to hang around for a few days, but as friendships grew and sparring partners were made, the weeks passed quickly.

"Thanks." Riku nodded, already getting to his feet.

Yuffie stood as well. "I'll walk you." She offered, secretly hoping to exasperate Leon off more. She knew it bugged him that she and Riku were friends and she exploited his aggravation whenever the opportunity arose.

She was satisfied to hear Leon's belts clinking away as he stalked off. Riku frowned at her, aware of her secret motives. "I don't know if I like being used to make him jealous. He's gonna find out the truth about me sooner or later-"

"I'm not using you to make him jealous!" Riku gave her a look, one that clearly said I'm-onto-you. "I don't!" She insisted. "I just know it pisses him off when we're hanging out. He's used to being my center of attention and he just has to get over it." They headed out toward the alleyway, both sopping wet.

"Right." Riku didn't believe her for a minute, but wisely decided it was not the time to challenge her temper. To be honest, he didn't feel up to much of anything. The fight had taken the last of his strength from him. As much as he hated to admit it, he hadn't been feeling all that great anyway.

"That was ingenious though, ya know, my tackle." Yuffie was grinning from ear to ear, recalling her victory.

"You cheated." Riku declared.

"Ah, technically I did not. I didn't say 'You put down yours and I'll put down mine'. I told you to put down yours and we'd fight like real men. Who says real men can't use ninja stars?" She laughed jubilantly, patting him on the back.

Riku scowled. "You only won by default."

"Sure, you're not up to usual standards and I cheated and the ground was too slick and the sky was too dark and the water wasn't purple enough and _just admit it_. Yuffie won. Say it. Yuffie. Won."

"It's not nice to gloat." Riku pointed out. His nose itched suddenly and he turned away, sneezing harshly into his gloved hands. "_HehEESSHHH! HEHEESHHHHH_!" He sniffled and sighed audibly, forgetting for a moment that Yuffie was watching him intently.

"You don't look good today." She said frankly, squinting at him.

"Thanks." Riku said dryly.

"No, I'm serious. You feelin' okay?"

"Not particularly, if you want the truth."

"Truth is good. Or in this case, bad. Think you're sick?"

"Doubt it. I don't get sick often, at least since that darkness infusion. It gave me an immune system boost or something. I must have gotten cold in that water." He shrugged, sniffling again. "You have any tissues on you, by chance?" Yuffie shook her head. "Go figure."

"Here, we gotta go this way anyway." Yuffie said, opening a back door on the bottom floor of the Hotel. It led to a small green room. "We were bumped down to this after the Heartless left. I can't say I hate it; it's a lot less trouble for Leon. It was funny watching him try to get up and down that balcony though." She crossed the dark room and turned on a light in the tiny bathroom. "Use the toilet paper to your heart's content, we haven't gone shopping lately and we're out of actual tissues. We're _economical_ as Leon puts it. I just say we're cheap."

"Money runs tight." Riku agreed, knowing all too well how it felt to live with half-munny Llaman noodles and styrofoam plates. "Uh…where's it at?" Riku asked.

Yuffie peered in and rolled her eyes. "Great, we're out of that too? Here, let me see under the sink – yep! New roll, lemme open it." She muttered, struggling to pull the tricky plastic off the item.

Unfortunately, Riku felt the all-too-familiar tickle flare up. He knew it was hopeless to attempt to hold it in and he grabbed the first thing he could – a towel thrown over the shower rod. "_HehEESShhh_!" The explosion was muffled.

Yuffie looked with disgust at the towel. "Nice Riku. Real classy."

"Says toilet-paper girl." He retorted, slightly congested. He accepted the fresh roll of paper and tore off a modest amount, stuffing half of it in his back pocket and using the rest of it to blow his nose noisily.

Yuffie shuddered again. "Yuck. Just take as much of it as you want." She waved it off and headed back out into the dark room, waiting for him to follow. He emerged a few blows later, finally breathing clearly again. "You good?"

"I'm good." He dropped the towel onto the floor besides the door without thinking. "Where'd Leon say Aerith was waiting?"

"I don't think he did…"

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

"Booya! Boardwalk _with_ a hotel! Today is just not your day, Riku-kins!" Yuffie exclaimed cheerfully, seizing the large sum of multi-colored munny and laughed as she sorted it out.

Riku scowled, tossing his last one-munny at her. "Take it. Hotel-warming present." He grumbled and pitched his miniature silver moogle into the box.

"Aw, Riku! Don't give up yet! You could pull out and whip both our butts." Sora patted his boyfriend's thigh encouragingly.

Riku grinned at Sora's modest mound of munny. "Or I could join forces with you. Business partner?"

Yuffie gave a maniacal giggle. "Planning to go all good guy/bad guy on me? You should know that only works in the movies. In the real universe, the powerful people squash the insignificant people."

Riku raised his silver eyebrow. "You do realize you're talking to the Keyblade Masters?"

Yuffie eyed them both. "Touche." She muttered. "But I'm still going to kick your asses. I already own yours, Riku. Twice."

Sora cocked his head to the side and looked at Riku. "Something you're not telling me?"

Yuffie dropped the dice. "AAARGH. Sora! Don't talk about your…your _exploits_ in front of me!"

"He didn't talk about it!" Riku came to Sora's defense.

"He hinted at it!"

"Actually, he didn't! But now that you bring it up-"

"_Riku_. Heh." Sora laughed nervously, stopping Riku in his tracks. Sora always felt curiously uncomfortable when that particular part of his lifestyle was talked about in detail. He wasn't ashamed, but he felt that it was private. For that, Yuffie was grateful.

"Just roll the dice, eh?" Yuffie slid the small, white squares in his direction.

Sora obliged, smiling. That smile faded considerably when he realized where he'd landed. Boardwalk. "You're kidding me." He said dryly, recounting the spaces.

Yuffie's maniacal laugh was back. "Doomed to repeat the same mistakes I see. Pay up!" She ordered, holding out her hand to collect the munny. Two rolls later, Sora landed on another costly piece of property and was forced to mortgage off all of his property.

"She's evil." Riku muttered, watching as Sora grudingly handed over her winnings, leaving him with naught but a twenty and five-munny.

"I'm _good_." She boasted. "I'm good at everything. How do you think I got the title 'Greatest Ninja Ever'?"

"You gave it to yourself." Leon's dry cynicism was unmistakable.

"Oh you're just bitter cause I beat you at this two weeks ago." Yuffie shrugged, completely unphased at his sudden appearance, rolling the dice. Six.

"Whatever. I'm getting in the shower. When will you be in?"

"I don't know."

"You shouldn't stay out late."

"I thought you were leaving?" Yuffie glanced at him over her shoulder, smiling a little. He scowled and slammed the Hotel doors behind him.

Riku let out a low whistle. "Lovers spat?"

"We are not lovers!" Yuffie insisted heatedly.

"You've slept in the same bed for what…three years now? Can you honestly say you've never…" His eyes glittered in the light from the windows, strikingly green against his unusually pale face.

"We've never. That's like asking if you and Sora experimented when you were younger. Ya know, before you…decided to experiment officially."

"Well…we _did_ experiement."

"Okay, first of all, that's talking about it," Yuffie smiled. "And second of all, Leon and I have not been romantically involved. Ever. Nor will we ever."

"I thought you were crushing on him." Sora rolled.

_Four_.

"I…did. He got…weird." Yuffie rolled.

_Ten_.

"Weird? Weird how?"

_Five_.

"I dunno, weird. St. Charles Place. That's four hundred-munny."

Sora paid his last twenty and five, essentially throwing in the towel. He and Riku shared glances. "You ever maybe stop to think about…why he got weird?"

Yuffie began putting things back into the box. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying sometimes people get weird when they're…in love."

"Oh!" Yuffie snorted. "Leon's in love with me. That makes a whole lot of sense, then."

"You ever consider it?"

"No. I've never considered it. It's ridiculous. I appreciate the thought Sora, really I do," Yuffie smiled. "But you don't know Leon like I do. He's not…like that. He's an asshole."

"So was Riku!" Sora jabbed his thumb in the offended teen's direction.

"Hey!" Riku said indignantly.

"Sorry, but you were! Kidnapping Kairi and Pinocchio and the whole I-Am-Darkness thing. Face it, you were an ass."

"I wasn't in my right mind! You can't say I was an asshole before all that happened!"

Sora gave him a look. "Really? '_Winner shares the paopu with Kairi'_. You were so exploiting my crush on her. That's pretty assholic."

"In all fairness, I was crushing on her too! It was competition. You've never been good at competition Sora."

"That wasn't competition. That was you psyching me out."

"Worked, didn't it?" Riku coughed.

"See! You admit it!"

"Admit what?"

"That you were being an asshole."

"No, I admitted that I was psyching you out."

"I…you…sometimes you make me want to kill you!" Sora growled in frustration, crossing his arms over his chest.

Riku smirked, reaching out to stroke the younger boy's spiky hair. "But you love me…" He reminded in a soft voice.

Sora gave a derisive snort, swatting Riku's hand away. "Not right now I don't!" He declared frostily.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Oh kiss and make up already. You know you want to." She smiled to herself, secretly enjoying the bickering between the boys. It was fun to watch them squabble – and they squabbled frequently.

Riku grinned. "I like her idea." He nodded his head in Yuffie's direction. Sora made the dire mistake of looking at him. It was nearly impossible to argue with Riku when he turned on his charm. It was a force not to be challenged.

"Admit you were an asshole." Sora demanded, but it was obvious his irritation was dwindling.

Riku thought for a minute. "If I do…do we get to kiss and make up?" 

Sora groaned. "You're impossible!" He threw his hands up and clambered to his feet. "Come on, we better get back to Cid's." The boys were staying in the vacant house in Third District, the one Cid had refused to sell but refused to use.

"That's a good idea. I need a hot shower about now, my head is killing me." Riku sighed.

Sora looked skeptical. "Your head is killing you." He repeated. "You're awfully talkative to be sick."

"Are you gonna be this way all night?" Riku snapped.

"Yes." Sora snapped back. His cool expression faltered when Riku very unexpectedly sneezed twice, coughing harshly afterward. Even he looked surprised at the outburst. Sora recovered quickly, concealing his concern behind an indifferent mask. "Oh sure, _now_ you start coughing. And don't sneeze on me, you jerk!"

Riku rolled his eyes, waved at Yuffie half-heartedly and strode away, leaving Sora very alone and very confused. "Did I really upset him?" The worried look was back. Yuffie looked after him, also bothered Riku's strange behavior, even moreso when they both heard him sneeze again as he walked down the stairs.

"I better go figure out what's wrong with him. See you tomorrow, Yuf." Sora shuffled off, sighing, the Monopoly box tucked under his right arm. Yuffie headed inside.

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV 

Yuffie flipped through the magazine, only barely interested. Her mind was on the man about to leave the bathroom. She couldn't help but think about what Sora had said.

"_Sometimes people get weird when they're…in love."_

But that was silly right? It was an impossible thought. Leon was incapable of honest to God genuine _love_, wasn't he? She knew about Rinoa and how seriously they had been involved back before the heartless came, and she knew how sensitive he was about her, but that didn't mean he had been in love with her. Did it?

The bathroom door opened and steam billowed out. He was wrapped from the waist down in a white towel, still dripping wet. She loved his hair when it was wet. She loved his hair when it was dry too, but something about the way it would hang hopelessly in his face, dark and sopping…

It was common for him to be shirtless in front of her, as it was common for her to run around before bed in nothing but one of his old shirts. Granted the shirt fell just past mid-thigh, which covered more than her usual clothes. They'd been partners for so long, friends for so long, it was easy to be comfortable with each other. That didn't mean she didn't admire his body. It _was_ gorgeous; after all who wouldn't admire it?

But tonight was different. With Sora's theory echoing in her mind, along with her already muddled feelings, she couldn't help but avoid his eyes. "Hey Leon?" She asked after a second, as he went through his drawers. He grunted in response. "Have you ever been in love?" 

He froze momentarily, staring into his underwear drawer. He quickly resumed digging. "Why?" He asked grumpily.

Yuffie shrugged. "I read an article on it in this magazine." She lied. "It said that twenty-two percent of all males admit that they've experienced love at first sight. I was just thinking about you…and Rinoa." She was crossing the threshold of dangerous territory, she knew. Leon stopped rummaging again, the pause longer than the first. Yuffie waited with baited breath, hoping for some sort of reaction.

"Yuffie." He said finally. His voice was hard, his features unfriendly. He didn't sound like he was going to continue.

"What?" Yuffie asked finally, drawing herself up to sit indian style. She looked at him expectantly.

" I don't want to talk about it."

"It's a simple question! Were you in love with Rinoa?" She pressured. He still didn't budge, stomping over to the bathroom. "Squall!" She snapped. "Answer me!"

He slammed the door behind him. "Yes." He snapped back, muted through the heavy wooden door. "And don't call me Squall."

Yuffie smiled, cheering for small victories. "Did you sleep with her?" Half curious, half-joking, she knew this would either set him off or shut him up. She waited unworriedly.

The door flew open. "That is completely inappropriate." He hissed, his navy eyes narrowed into an icy glare.

"Oh _come on_!" She rolled her eyes. "We're both adults here-"

"Wrong, Yuffie. _I'm_ an adult. _You're_ still just a _kid_. I don't care how old you are."

Yuffie sat stunned. She shifted through her emotions, trying to decide which one was the most potent. While she was extraordinarily hurt, she determined that rage was her biggest foe. As she thought about the numerous comebacks, things she could throw, threats she could make, she noticed him pick up the towel Riku had dropped by the door earlier in the day.

She watched, inwardly smirking slyly, as he wiped the water off his face and then wiped the foggy mirror down. _Revenge_, she thought, _is definitely a dish served germy_. _With any luck, the bastard will get the cold from hell. Would serve him right._

She tossed the magazine to the floor, still battling the feelings of rejection. She consoled herself by telling herself that he was just a jerk and didn't deserve any more of her time. One day she would be as curvy and beautiful as Rinoa or Aerith and she would be flanked by gorgeous men just begging for her hand in marriage, and Leon would be a nobody, alone and ashamed at his misery.

Besides, she was too young and vibrant for him anyway.

She continued to come up with reasons why she was better than he was as she turned off the lamp beside the bed and curled up under the covers, making sure to stay as far on her side as she could. She listened as he brushed his teeth and pretended to be asleep when he emerged.

He crawled into bed next to her with a heavy sigh. Riku's accusation popped into her head and she buried her face in the pillow, cringing, and moved even futher toward the edge of the bed.

"Yuffie…" Leon said softly into the darkness. She didn't answer, still pretending to be asleep. A few minutes later she felt the blankets pull away as he turned over. Good.

It seemed she had hardly even closed her eyes before she woke up shivering. Her cheeks felt wet and her breathing was labored. As her vision cleared, she realized it had been a dream. Leon hadn't actually died, it was only a nightmare.

To convince herself of this fact, she peered over the shoulder of the snoring man beside her. Yep, he was alive and kicking. Yuffie took a deep, shuddery breath and forced herself to stop crying. She hated Leon, right? She was only a kid to him, the annoying sidekick, nothing more.

So why did the thought of losing him hurt so much?

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

Yuffie sat in the Café, drinking her chocolate milk quietly, watching the people walk by. Sora and Riku had gone home a few hours earlier, and Yuffie was feeling very much like she'd just lost her best friends. Now who was she supposed to fight with?

Aerith was always busy working here or there, helping elderly and volunteering at shelters and all that other goody-goody Aerith crap. Cloud wasn't one to spar often. He tended to stick to his own private endeavors. Most of the time Yuffie didn't even know where he was.

And Leon…she'd avoided Leon like the plague after the incident a couple days ago. It hadn't been hard, as he'd been avoiding her as well. He came in late, when he thought she was asleep, and left before she woke up.

It'd been nice having someone her age around, someone to hang out with, someone who understood her. She would just have to go back to her ninja-like ways and stalk people all day, hopping roofs and swimming in the Waterway.

For now she was content to sit alone, with her thoughts. It wasn't often she had serious thoughts. It wasn't often she was serious at all, in fact. Leon was right. She was really just a kid at heart, completely immature and totally comfortable with it. Who wanted to be a stick-up-the-ass grouch anyway?

She noticed a familiar brunette woman running toward the Café. Aerith? But Aerith rarely ran. She was a slow, calm sort of person, that ever-smiling type. Not this time though. Yuffie recognized the worry and stress on her face and stood just as she came through the doors.

"Yuffie!" She called, rushing through the tables, murmuring excuses to each person she passed. "Leon's collapsed. He's in the infirmary now." She said quietly, her brown eyes clouded with anxiety.

Immediately the dream came to Yuffie's mind and her heart jumped into her throat. "_What_? What's wrong with him?" She exclaimed, grabbing the flower girl by her wrist and dragging her toward the exit.

A waiter called from the back of the Café. "Miss! You haven't paid for that-"

"I'll come back for it!" Yuffie barked, her mind on more important matters than munny.

Aerith fell into step once they reached the outside. "Cloud said they were in the Waterway and Leon just passed out in the middle of the battle. Scared him half to death…scared _me_ half to death when he carried him in-"

"Have they found out what's wrong? Dehydration? Exhaustion?" Yuffie's mind raced to the towel. Maybe he'd caught what Riku had…but Riku hadn't been sick enough to faint. Why why _why_ hadn't she warned him not to use the towel? How could she have been so petty?

"I came to find you before I heard." Aerith answered. Yuffie sensed the nervousness in the usually composed healer, which only caused Yuffie to be even uneasier. "I'm sure he's fine." She added. "He probably just fought too hard, got too hot. That's all."

Yuffie nodded. "Right." They hurried into the infirmary. Aerith led her down the hall, to one of the last rooms. A doctor caught up with them, pulling Aerith aside. Yuffie slipped through the door.

The man lying in the bed looked different and familiar at the same time. It was Leon, obviously, but the green infirmary gown did nothing for him. He turned his head toward her. "Yuffie." He came as close to smiling as he ever did, the slightest upturn of the corners of his mouth. He sounded perfectly well.

She didn't know what she'd been expecting. A pale, weak, deathly man croaking out his last requests? Whatever she had thought he would be, she was wrong. Relief flooded through her. "You moron! What's wrong with you! You scared me half to death!"

"I…" He was obviously at a loss for words. Not unusual.

Yuffie growled and bent down to hug him. She didn't care that he wasn't the touchy-feely type, or that they'd been in the middle of a cold-shouldering war, or that he was a great big jackass. He awkwardly patted her back, tense.

"Yuffie…" He said again. It seemed her name and a few other one-syllable words were all he could come up with lately.

She straightened. "What's wrong with you? Are you sick? Cause if you're not and you made me worry like that, I'll kick your ass. You just better hope-" She faltered as her breath hitched in her throat, the back of her eyes stinging.

Leon noticed the tears forming and couldn't hide his surprise. "Yuffie, I'm fine." He assured her quickly, uncomfortably. "Don't…don't cry." He almost looked scared at the thought.

"I'm sorry, I just…" She sobbed. "I thought you had died cause I had this dream that you died and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with you and ever since you used that towel I just knew you would get sick somehow cause Riku sneezed on it and- and when Aerith told me you had collapsed I think I nearly had a heart attack cause I thought oh no he's really gonna die and he's never g-gonna know that I'm sorry and that…that…you were right! I'm not an adult, I'm just this kid, this annoying sidekick that's like…and I don't know. You'd never know how I feel and you'd think I hated you and I really don't hate you I just don't like you sometimes and…and…" She coughed.

Leon looked extremely confused. "Wait…" His eyebrows were knitted together in uncertainty. "What?"

Just then, Aerith walked in. She looked at Leon, then at Yuffie and her eyes widened. "Oh _Yuffie_!" She exclaimed, rushing over and wrapping her in a hug. "He's okay! He's just got a bad cold, that's all!" She smoothed the hair away from the ninja's face in a motherly fashion.

Yuffie suddenly felt very stupid and very embarrassed. "I know, I know that's not…" She shook her head, swallowing hard. "I'll be back later…I have to go pay the Café…" She mumbled, hurrying out of the room with her face hidden.

Before she could completely escape she heard Aerith ask accusingly, "What did you say to her?"

And Leon's offended reply, "I didn't say anything!"

Yuffie shook her head. Sometimes she felt like she was more trouble than she was worth.

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Yuffie asked from the doorway.

Leon glanced up at her. He continued pulling on his shoes. "It's just a cold, I'm fine." He replied evenly.

"Right, just like you were fine in the Waterway. Then you collapsed." Yuffie pointed out, not leaving her post. It was the first time they'd seen each other since the hospital visit yesterday. Leon had been allowed to go home that evening and Yuffie, still humiliated from her breakdown, stayed with Aerith.

He didn't answer right away. "I'm fine." He said finally.

"You don't look fine. You still look pretty flushed. I bet your fever hasn't even broken yet. Does Aerith know you're up and moving around?"

"I'm a grown man."

"Oh that's right…adult and all." Yuffie rolled her eyes.

Leon sighed. "Yuffie, when I said that…I didn't mean it-"

"Yeah, yeah you did. You meant every word. And that's okay cause I _am_ still a kid. There's nearly a ten-year gap between us; it's just really starting to show. You're too old for me."

"I'm not old." He frowned.

Yuffie grinned. "You're almost thirty, big guy. Almost old enough to know how to take care of yourself, don't you think?"

"I told you I'm-"

"You're fine, you're fine, I know. So fine, in fact, that you don't need the expert care of the Great Ninja Yuffie?" She teased, striking a pose.

He almost smiled at that. They didn't talk for almost a full minute. "I did sleep with her." He said quietly, his hands clasped in front of him tightly, elbows resting on his knees.

Yuffie blinked at the abrupt change of topic. "Oh." She said finally, crossing her arms over her chest. "And here I thought you were a virgin." She joked with a grin. He snorted. "Well…I guess you're lucky to have loved someone at least once in your life. Do you still love her?"

Leon shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat. "Not…not like I did."

"Oh…" Yuffie nodded. "Okay. Well." She didn't know how to respond.

"In the hospital, you said something about dying." He looked up at her. His eyes gazed intently at her, making her uncomfortable.

"Oh, heh. I had this dream the night we fought that you died. And then…I just thought…"

"You thought I was going to die?"

"Well…yeah…" She stared at the ground, feeling silly.

He laughed quietly. "I'm _not_ going to die."

"Yeah, unfortunately." She snickered. He rolled his eyes. "Kidding…I guess I would miss you if you died. You're like my best friend."

"I thought Riku was your best friend." Not even stoic Leon could keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Yuffie stared at him in astonishment. That didn't sound like a Leon remark. "Well, Riku _is_ one of my best friends. You don't think…you never thought there was anything _more_ to Riku's and my relationship did you?" Leon just looked at her. Yuffie burst out laughing. "Squall! Riku's _gay_!"

"What?" Leon's eyes widened for a minute. "He's gay? Since when?"

"Since he and Sora became _best_ best friends. And here you thought I was dating him…man, we are two deluded individuals."

"He's gay…that would explain a lot…" Leon was still marveling over this revelation. "I think he hit on me once…"

Yuffie laughed. "I think you're still delirious. You better get out of those clothes and back into bed before Aerith catches you up."

"I'm not afraid of-"

"Leon Leonhart!" The healer's familiar voice rang out behind Yuffie.

She cringed. "Sucks to be you…" And with that she slipped out of the room, leaving Leon alone to deal with the flower girl.

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She crawled into bed slowly, biting her lip, hoping not to wake him up. She thought she was home free as she settled into the cool sheets. He suddenly began to cough, the bed shaking. Yuffie froze, hoping he was still sleeping. He rolled over, sniffling. "Did I wake you?" She whispered.

"No." He whispered back.

"Okay good. Night."

"…Night." He said after a moment.

She glanced at his profile. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"…Okay then. You wanna talk?"

"No."

"Okay…"

"…Yuffie."

"Leon?"

"…Thanks."

"For?"

"Just…thanks."

"Oh. Okay. You're welcome."

"Heh…_HehTCHUUHHH!_"

"Bless you."

"Hmph."

Yuffie started to laugh. "I _knew_ you'd get sick. You used the towel Riku sneezed all over."

"…That prick gave me this cold? I'll kill him." He grumbled. Yuffie reached over, still laughing, and patted his shoulder. He automatically grabbed her hand, surprising the both of them.

Yuffie stopped laughing. "Leon?" She asked after a few seconds.

He let go of her hand almost instantly. "I'm too old for this." He grumbled under his breath, turning back on his side away from Yuffie.

Yuffie didn't know what came over her. She felt empowered, fearless. "So that really _is_ your problem. That's why you were so weird about Riku and I. That's why you've been extra overprotective and surly! You _like_ me! You _really_ like me!" She sat straight up, grinning fiercly.

He snorted. "Whatever."

"You pedophile!"

"_Yuffie_. Go to bed."

"I guess skinny _can_ beat curves!" Her torment was merciless.

"Shut _up_."

"Admit it! I'm right! Even Sora and Riku say so!"

"…"

"Squaaaaallie."

"…"

"Aw…Squallie…" She peered over his shoulder. "Come on now…I think I almost like you a little bit too."

"Get off me."

"Ah, you're such a romantic."

"You're gonna get sick."

"I will not. My immune system is as invincible as I am!"

"Goodnight Yuffie."

She heaved a sigh, falling back to her own side. "Okay fine. You win. You better feel better in the morning cause we're talkin'; there won't be any _goodnight Yuffie_."

He grunted. All was silent for a long minute. "I do care about you." Leon said suddenly, quietly.

"…I care about you too. You're never too old or too young to care."

"I don't know if I love you."

"That's okay. I'm not asking you to love me."

"Do you love me?"

"I think so. As a friend for sure but maybe…something more?"

"…You're a braver person than I am, Yuffie."

Yuffie smiled into the dark, her hand slipping beneath the covers and finding his. She gave it a small squeeze and replied, "Duh."

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

_The End_

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End file.
